Two Months Later
"I still don't see why we have to do this." Jade said as Nessie and Draco guided her towards the white double doors.
"You don't have to see anything Jade. You're the only one pouting over this baby shower. Everyone else is looking forward to this event so much! Please take that into consideration. Draco please knock some sense into her." Nessie said.
Draco placed a hand on Jade's waist and touched her face. "I know, I know, I'll behave." Jade said seeing him grin. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and Jade wrapped her arms around him, not wanting to go to a stupid baby shower that Nessie probably had outdone herself in.
"All right! I'm opening the doors!" Nessie squeaked excitedly.
She pushed the doors open and a sea full of people in a ridiculously large ballroom greeted Jade and Draco warmly. They clapped and cheered as they all walked in. Jade was taken away with Nessie's extraordinary decorations. It felt as if she was in Hogwarts again. Candles hovered around the perimeter of the room and golden sashes were elegantly looped across the room from the ceiling. The walls were painted a deep red with a giant golden lion.
"Gryffindor theme?" Jade asked turning to Nessie who nodded towards Draco.
"He gave me the idea. I just made it." Nessie said.
"Oh Nessie." Jade said hugging Nessie tightly.
Nessie chuckled and pointed to Draco. Jade kissed him lightly. She turned to the people attending the party and started greeting and thanking them for coming. Nessie had invited so many people, Jade started to feel irritated with the never ending line of people that kept saying the same things over and over again.
"Enjoy the party Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson." Jade said nodding at them.
"We will! By the way, that man in that strange costume that's serving the drinks, he's unbelievably talented! There are no strings or anything else attached to those glasses. I must find out how he bartends 'magically.'" Mrs. Ferguson said.
Jade and Draco turned to a young man in Gryffindor Quidditch robes who stunned a crowd of muggles by whizzing around bottles of drinks.
"How did Nessie get away with all of this?" Jade asked questioningly at Draco who merely shrugged. "I asked her how she was going to pull this off, but she said she had already gotten a few people to cover her from the Ministry. Imagine that, bribing the Ministry with the season's collections…I might start designing clothes myself." Draco said thoughtfully.
Jade snaked her arms around his waist and pressed herself against him, scowling when her belly got in the way. "I'd snog you madly but I'm famished." Jade told him. The baby kicked lightly in her stomach and Draco felt it.
"I can tell, it was either your stomach or our child that's complaining whichever it is, you've got to eat before it kicks my arse." Draco said.
"Jade? Draco?" a voice asked. Jade and Draco turned around and Hermione stood there with two people standing right next to her. Jade's eyes widened and she gasped.
"I swear I haven't broken any rules! We're not in Hogwarts…well not technically." Jade said.
"50 points from you Miss Harper for leaving all these years and never once visiting after coming back." McGonagall said.
Jade hung her head a bit. "50 points is a bit unreasonable don't you think?" Jade asked.
McGonagall gave her a look of disbelief and walked forward, hugging jade tightly. "You look so beautiful, I could have never even known." McGonagall said.
"Thank you." Jade said as McGonagall kept looking over her.
"You clean up very well Miss Harper. Congratulations on your first child." Snape said. Jade shook hands with Snape and nodded. "Mr. Malfoy." Snape said shaking hands with Draco.
"Snape. McGonagall, thank you for coming." Draco said.
"Thank you for inviting us. You don't understand how it makes me feel to see you…like this." McGonagall said looking at Jade with adoration.
"Who knew, that this woman would be the one to wreak havoc and distress in Hogwarts?" Snape asked.
"Do you know how many times I had to fight to force her to wear a skirt?" McGonagall asked.
"Out of all the insanity she's pulled, you highlight her refusal to wear a skirt. Did you remember about when she nearly killed Thomas in my Potions class?" Snape asked, turning to Jade with amused eyes.
"Oh how nostalgic. If I could do it over again, I would…but just with a little more force." Jade said as Draco laughed beside her.
McGonagall formed her mouth into a tight line, but her eyes smiled. Snape's lip curled into a smile and Hermione giggled. They all stood around and spoke to people and Jade told them about the last 7 years, editing a lot of things in her story. Jade also introduced Snape and McGonagall to Nessie who was thrilled to meet the Professors that taught Jade in Hogwarts. Snape and McGonagall happily told Nessie about Jade's escapades in Hogwarts making Nessie laugh uproariously.
"Oh and I thought I had it bad!" Nessie exclaimed.
Jade shook her head and rolled her eyes at Nessie and sat at a table and ate from a plate with Hermione. "Where's Harry?" Jade asked. She bit into a butter roll and rolled her eyes back, savoring every morsel of the buttery goodness.
"I actually don't know. He said he'd be coming." Hermione said frowning.
Jade chewed the roll slowly and looked around the room, seeing the guests enjoying themselves and taking part in the activities. Her eyes spotted Harry who walked through the main doors, his cheeks flushed. Jade went to call out Harry's name but no sound came out, only the particles of her food. Hermione wrinkled her nose and brushed Jade's face and lap of the food.
"I'm sorry I'm late." Harry said kissing Jade's cheek.
"You're not forgiven. You now have to take off your shirt and dance to one of the Weird Sister's song and raise 500 Galleons by the end of the night for my forgiveness." Jade grinned. Her smile fell a little to see him smile half heartedly back at her.
"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked seeing Harry turn to her.
"It's not important at the moment. I really wanted to bring the kids but…well I'm just lucky I made it out of the house." Harry said taking a seat with them.
"Yeah it's fine. I'll squeeze them to death probably another day." Jade said waving her hand around.
"I bought you a gift." Harry said placing Jade's gift on the table. Jade thanked him and placed the gift next to her as Harry lapsed back into silence again. Hermione caught Jade's eyes and signaled her to Harry. She jerked her head slightly towards Harry and Jade understood what she meant.
"Well I'm going to see if Nessie needs help with anything. I'll be right back." Hermione said getting up and leaving. Harry nodded, his eyes not leaving the floor.
"Take your time." Jade told her. She gave Hermione a wink and saw her walk away into the crowd of people. Jade shifted back to Harry who looked up at her and wagged his eyebrows. Jade reached out and took his hands, surprised that they were stone cold and clammy. She placed them on her lap and felt him squeeze her hands firmly.
"Talk to me." Jade said warmly.
Harry took a deep breath and shrugged. "I don't know where to start." Harry said shaking his head.
"Start anywhere you'd like." Jade told him.
Harry looked a bit hesitant to tell her. His hands grew clammier and his face grew paler. "Ginny and I…are divorcing." Harry said finally.
Jade didn't expect that. "Huh?" she asked stupidly.
Harry nodded and looked at Jade. "We've agreed on divorce. Well…I did at least. She didn't want-"
"Why are you divorcing her? Why in the world would you want to do that?" Jade asked incredulously.
"I don't think you know her well enough to ask those questions. I've been with her for the past 6 years and it's been…I can't even find a horrifying enough word to describe it." Harry said staring off into space.
"She's not that horrible Harry. Women tend to be a bit controlling and demanding but that isn't by all means something so bad that it can't be defined. She's been nice when in Hogwarts and honestly I don't care if she likes me or not, but I do understand why she doesn't. People go through shit in their lives. I'm sure you have more options with her." Jade said.
Harry leaned over and tried to make her understand but Jade was adamant about it. "Imagine being married to Voldemort. I've never missed Voldemort himself so badly. 6 years with her compared to 6 years to deal with Voldemort…I'd relive those 6 years a thousand times than live with her for another minute." Harry told her.
"You're being so irrational about this."
"Me irrational? Sweetheart, love, you won't understand. Yes she's my wife and all, I do love her and have respect for her as a mother and in some ways a woman, but things never work out. Some relationships just never work out and no matter what some people do, some may work, but some will just never work again. I've tried very hard to work things out with her. I really did but she just can't trust me. I come from a long day at work, only to be screamed at for the smallest things-no you can't speak, I'm not finished." Harry said when Jade went to object.
"I'm not stupid, I know this happens in marriage and every other relationship but it came to a point where I gave up completely. I come home from work to be screamed at and she just throws these fits like she's some psychotic head case from a bloody asylum. And not only that, she accuses me of cheating on her. Every day, the same old story. I put up with all her crap but my kids are getting bigger now and they're listening every day. Should I let my kids grow up listening to that woman accuse me of the same things? Should I let my kids have a false impression of their Dad? It's not healthy for them to be raised in a hostile environment. I don't want them to have the same problems when they're married with children. Trust me, with Ginny and I separated they'll be better off than us together in the same house." Harry said to Jade who sat there stunned.
"She's really insecure about our relationship Jade. It's hard for her to trust me. She has absolutely no faith in me or our relationship. There's no use of making her go through this every day. To be with someone she can't trust it makes her suffer. I want her to be happy. I'm not only thinking this through about my kids and myself." Harry said.
"I'm not going to say anything. Mainly because I don't know what to say." Jade said.
"You don't have to say anything." Harry sighed.
They sat there in silence, holding each other's hands. Jade tried to force herself to think what she would say to him but she kept drawing blanks. She had no idea what advice to give him or what to say. It felt a bit frustrating for her to do so because she was like this all through her life. She would be the last person for a person to ask for advice or suggestions. She was good at listening to their problems and giving them the honest and harsh truth but right now she had nothing to say that could comfort Harry through his hard time.
"What are you thinking about right now?" Harry asked seeing Jade shake her head and shrug.
"I'm trying to find something nice to say to make you feel better or try to come up with a solution that can make your life easy but I'm just so incredibly stupid." Jade sighed. Her baby lightly kicked her and Jade scowled. "Hush, I'm having a moment." Jade warned.
"Hey I didn't notice. This is the first time seeing you this big. How long are you?" Harry asked looking at her large belly.
"8 months. Wow you don't understand how awkward it feels sometimes being pregnant." Jade said shifting in her seat.
"I'm glad I don't." Harry said.
Jade smiled at him and took his hands again. "What about the children?" Jade asked.
Harry's eyes flickered to the floor again and a depressed and anxious look cast over his face. "Hopefully Ginny will agree to joint custody. I'm not sure at the moment but I'm ready to fight for my kids." Harry said. Jade placed her arms around him and hugged him, feeling him hug her back. "Sit down; you don't have to get up to hug me. I'll be all right. Thank you for listening to me." Harry said.
Jade moved her seat so she sat next to him and hugged him conveniently. "I'll smack your glasses off if you ever thank me again." Jade warned.
"Ah such a lovely and sweet couple." A voice said behind them.
Jade turned around to see Draco send her a playful glare. "Draco and his bad timing. Harry and I were in the process of-"
"I'll save you from your bad joke." Draco interrupted. He leaned over and kissed her. He turned to Harry and tipped a nod towards him. "Potter." Draco acknowledged.
"Malfoy." Harry nodded back.
Draco sat next to Jade and looked at Jade who smiled back at him. He took one of her hands and tangled his hand into hers, looking away. Jade appreciated Draco for giving her time with Harry. He knew how to intrude politely and give her, her privacy without breathing down her neck and obsessing over her.
"When are you telling Hermione?" Jade asked seeing Harry watching Hermione speak to Nessie.
"Today of course. She's honestly sick of the way Ginny acts herself. She knows how unbearable Ginny can get so I think it wouldn't come as a surprise to her. We've been talking about this for a while now. Can you believe that I've been committed to her for 6 years? I tried to make it work Jade, I really did. After James was born I thought things would change. I waited and Albus was born then Lily just a few months ago. I thought I'd stick around for the kid's sake but I couldn't." Harry shrugged.
"Don't think about that anymore. You need to think about having the kids back in your life. They're your main focus for now. Worry about the past later." Jade said.
The baby shower ceremony ended after a few hours. Jade cut two tall chocolate and vanilla cakes and even grossed Draco out when she ate cake and tuna together. She told him it was a craving that he'd never be able to understand. She was a bit mortified at the thought of opening the amount of presents that were there for her to open in front of everyone. She was spared from the ceremony of the gift opening and she promised to send them all a thank you card in return.
"Oh what a night." Jade said rubbing her lower back. She stretched a bit and sat on her bed feeling extremely sleepy. All these uncomfortable months of having a child inside of her kept Jade awake during most of the nights. She felt Draco lie her down and run his hands through her hair to get her to sleep.
"Do you believe that two people can actually be able to stay together for a child?" Jade asked suddenly.
Draco looked down at her to see her waiting for his answer. "What? What are you talking about?" Draco asked.
"Just answer the question Draco." Jade said.
"Does this have anything to do with us?" Draco asked.
Jade clicked her teeth and shook her head. "No. I hope not. It's just a question." Jade told him.
"Where did this question suddenly spring from?" Draco asked.
"Why can't you give me a straight answer to anything?" Jade asked.
"Ok. To answer your absolutely vague question, two people can stay together for a child." Draco answered.
"Even if they fall out of love?" Jade asked.
"Even if they fall out of love." Draco confirmed.
Jade sighed and wondered. "Why do you think so? How can two people live under the same roof just for the sake of their child?" Jade asked.
Draco sighed and lied down next to her, his hand still in her hair. "Well you obviously knew how I was raised." Draco said.
"Oh…yes you're right. I forgot about that." Jade said feeling a bit embarrassed. Draco had told her during Hogwarts how his relationship with his parents were. They were forced to marry and forced to produce an heir. Narcissa's selfish reasons to spoil and love her one and only son and Lucius's selfish reason to keep his pureblood bloodlines running and to make his only son a Death Eater. Draco had also told Jade that after his birth Narcissa and Lucius had tried for another child but every time Narcissa would become pregnant, the baby would die in her womb or come out stillborn. It made things much more miserable for his 'family'.
"Remember when I told you my mother killed herself from living this empty and fake life? She surely did stay with my father for my sake but just having miscarriages and stillborns depressed her enough to tell everything to fuck off so she can take her own life. Lucius was no help to her either. He'd slap her around whenever he felt like it so what reason did she have to stay? Different people, under different circumstances have different mindsets on how they want something done and voila, out comes a different outcome. Of course, not everyone can stay together for a child. Some people stay, some people stay together and others just kill themselves." Draco said thinking of the woman he never tried to appreciate when she was alive.
"I liked your Mum. She really hated me." Jade said placing her head on Draco's chest. She heard a rumble of laughter from his chest and felt him comb through her hair with his fingers.
"That's because you didn't look like a normal girl and you can always smell the pot reeking from your clothes. I think if she saw you now, she'd adore you." Draco said.
Jade smiled and ran her hand on his smooth and muscular arm. "You know…I'm not feeling so tired anymore." Jade said looking up, seeing Draco mirroring the same mischievous look.